Set WIP limits based on your constraint's capacity…
Set explicit work-in-progress limits by deciding how many active projects your constraint can handle simultaneously, and when the limit is full, new items enter a backlog rather than the active queue.
When This Fires
- When setting up a personal project management system
- When active projects consistently exceed your capacity to advance them
- When When the bottleneck is waiting, not processing — reduce…'s Little's Law analysis reveals too many items in progress
- Complements Set WIP limits per pipeline stage (solo (stage-level WIP limits) with portfolio-level constraint-based limits
Common Failure Mode
Unlimited active queue: accepting every new project into the active set because "I can handle one more." Each addition individually seems manageable; collectively, the 15 active projects each receive 7% of your attention, and nothing completes.
The Protocol
(1) Identify your binding constraint: what resource limits how many projects you can advance simultaneously? Usually: your focused attention (2-3 deep projects max) or a key collaborator's availability. (2) Set the WIP limit to match the constraint's capacity: if you can meaningfully advance 3 projects simultaneously, the limit is 3. (3) When a new project arrives and the active queue is full → it enters the backlog. Acknowledge it, prioritize it within the backlog, but do not add it to active. (4) When an active project completes → pull the highest-priority backlog item into active. (5) Review the limit quarterly: if you're consistently completing active items quickly, you might increase by 1. If items stall, decrease by 1.